Overview & Reviews

One of America's most storied automotive brands, Dodge has been around since the early days of the auto industry. In the past couple of decades, it has revitalized itself to be a producer of aggressively styled and performance-oriented vehicles.

Two brothers, Horace and John Dodge, began the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle company in 1914, after having worked as manufacturers of bicycles and automotive parts. Their first vehicle was a touring car that proved a fast favorite with car buyers; it was soon joined by a roadster and a four-door sedan. By 1917, the company's model line had grown to include trucks. Dodge cars and trucks were used as staff vehicles and ambulances in World War I.

Dodge was briefly owned by a banking firm and subsequently sold by its new owner to the Chrysler Corporation in 1928. From there, the brand slowly evolved into the division responsible for trucks and performance-oriented cars. Post WWII, Dodge introduced vehicles like the military-inspired Power Wagon truck, Hemi-powered Coronet and the Royal Lancer; in addition, the manufacturer began offering dealer-installed air-conditioning.

Vehicles like the Dodge Dart and the Coronet kept the manufacturer in American driveways throughout the 1960s. That decade also saw the launch of one of Dodge's most iconic vehicles, the Charger. Dodge's muscle car was based on the Coronet platform, and featured a fastback roof line, hidden headlamps and a full-width taillamp panel. Best of all, the Charger could pack one heck of a wallop under the hood. A 318-cubic-inch V8 was standard, but buyers seeking maximum brawn could upgrade to a 426-cubic-inch, 425-hp Hemi V8. The company also introduced a Mustang-fighting pony car, called the Challenger, in 1970.

As with other American auto manufacturers, Dodge's fortunes started to slip in the '70s due to changing tastes and increased competition. The company was saved from extinction in the early '80s thanks to government loans and the sales success of its Omni and Aries economy cars (the former an attempted copy of the VW Rabbit). But 1984 was when Dodge made its mark in the history books with the introduction of the wildly popular Caravan. Ideal for families and able to seat up to seven, the space-efficient Caravan started a whole new vehicle segment -- the minivan.

The early '90s saw the company wow the public with the V10-powered Viper roadster and an all-new Ram pickup that set a new standard for big-rig-like styling. A few years later, Dodge came to be part of DaimlerChrysler, a result of the merger of the German company Daimler (owner of Mercedes-Benz) and Chrysler.

The merger never really worked, however, and Daimler sold Chrysler and Dodge to a private equity firm in 2007. Soon after, America's economy slid into recession. Due to poor sales and debt, Chrysler had to declare bankruptcy. The federal government intervened and eventually Dodge came under control of Fiat, a European automaker known for its small cars, an area where Dodge's entries had been roundly criticized for mediocre build quality and unrefined performance.

More recent years have seen Dodge concentrate on the more practical vehicles in its lineup, making notable improvements to the performance and overall quality of its midsize Avenger sedan and Journey SUV entries. Dodge also spun off its truck line, making it a separate Ram brand. But make no mistake; Dodge is still considered Chrysler's performance division thanks to cars like the Challenger and Charger. Time will tell how successful Dodge's latest makeover is.

User Reviews:

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  LOVE THE CAR HATE THE PROBLEMS - 1995 Dodge Intrepid
  By TRIMM - August 1 - 2:00 am

  Great car, love to ride, its my favorite car next to my shelby. a few problems, tie rods, water pump, 3 trans (2 under warranty), rack and pinion, airconditioning has gone out twice, chrystlers cheap paint, the hood does not stay up, and shocks are bad. nice power and handling though, preparing to take the car apart and rebuild.

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  Not Best Quality, But Best Value - 1999 Dodge Stratus
  By Kingglim - August 1 - 2:00 am

  -Superior bang for the buck -Low used prices (sorry for the first owners), even cheaper than 1 year- older, baseline Civic and Corolla -Youthful and energetic exterior & interior -Lot of room, more than I paid for. -Plenty of features -Very harsh suspension unpaved roads and road cracks. -Front end began rattling over unpaved roads and road cracks in 2001. -Wind noise and road noise are loud -Soft brake and it wears out fast -Poor rust-proofing, hood rusted out in 2002, but replaced by dealer free. -During slowdown, downshift from 4th to 3rd at 30 mph by the auto tranny produces strong jerk. Engine RPM is too low for the downshift.

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  Fuse problem road noise - 2000 Dodge Neon
  By CaliDriver - August 1 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car used, when it was only one year old. Ive now owned it two years, and Im sort of holding my breath. So far Ive only replaced my brake pads due to squealing. However, I recently replaced the radio fuse, only to have the radio go out on me again after two weeks. Could be a short somewhere. Bad road noise.

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  Great Value when bought slightly used - 2002 Dodge Intrepid
  By Kbeyer - August 1 - 2:00 am

  I bought the vehicle used from Enterprise (nice sales experience btw), and got a 2002 Intrepid SE w/ 23k miles, for $12,000. The interior is the ROOMIEST of any family sedan. The base engine is powerful enough for most drivers, unless you are begging for reckless driving citations. The vehicle has presence on the road. The engine/tranny do seem busy when hard-pressed(floored), as the car downshifts, and revs up to 6000rpm. Gas mileage is excellent for its size, the only noise to be heard most of the time is low road noise from the tires.

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  Reliable - 1992 Dodge Caravan
  By dtorma - July 31 - 2:00 am

  We bought this vehicle from a friend who loved it and was getting a good deal on a newer model Caravan. Very few problems and never left me stranded. Lots of seating for our 3 young kids (and their friends) although very cramped in the back for adults.

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  Best used car ever - 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Ronj - July 31 - 2:00 am

  This car gives a great ride and is great on gas I have the tow package and it pulles my trailer very well, I have the big V6. It is a fun car to drive and I look forward to shopping for a new one.

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  great car for the money - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By yaacko2 - July 31 - 2:00 am

  this is my first time buying a dodge and so far im very impressed.i traded in my 2001 nissan altima gxe and i must say that this car is much more spacious ,and much more fun to drive.ive gone a tad over 100 miles and i figured id check the fuel effiency and it tok but 3 gallons to fill back up as where my altima would be on 1/2 tank by this time.fit and finsh not up to standards of camry or accord but its also thousands of dollars less expensive.have to wait and see on the reliability but everyone ive talked to whos had one didnt complain .peppy lil 4 banger does fine pulling my 6ft5 300 lb self around with no complaints and i live in a hilly area.

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  Great little car - 1997 Dodge Stratus
  By DualStratuses - July 30 - 2:00 am

  In my family, we now have two Stratuses, both 97s, both 2.0L and five-speed stick. Mine is Forest Green Metallic and my fathers is Light Silver Fern Clearcoat. They are great little cars, cheap, peppy and safe. My father has 230,000 miles on his, and hes only replaced the infamous head gasket, the rear main seal (and consequently the clutch), and a left wheel bearing assembly. His car still gets 35-37 MPG on the highway. I just bought mine today, well see if mine turns out as well as his has.

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  Dodge-ing Problems - 1999 Dodge Intrepid
  By Goldavid - July 30 - 2:00 am

  Like others, I have had a bad speed sensor and the driver side window motor has gone bad. Right now my car is in the shop with a bad evaporator. On the plus side, it is very roomy, great trunk space and fun to drive. . I have had no problems with paint as others seem to have had. Glove compartment is very small. Keyless entry is iffy - I recommend getting the battery replaced more often and go to Radio Shack - cost is 50% less than dealer. Concerned about the next big problem - can anyone say "Transmission?" As of today, my car is at 55k.

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  98 Highline-Loved it & its xtra warranty - 1998 Dodge Neon
  By biogirl - July 29 - 2:00 am

  Im finally getting ready to trade in my 98 Neon Highline. I liked it more than I thought I would. Never thought Id buy Dodge after my parents Caravan fiasco, but was short on money. Salesman did not have what I like to call "Hey Little Lady Syndrome". I was smart & got the extended warranty. thru 100K miles - definitely worth it. Never had a problem until about 99,975, when my head gasket, A/C, rear main seal?, and another oil seal went. The service staff at a nearby dealership took care of it without any "Hey Little Lady Syndrome". They even invited me into the garage to show me what was wrong so I didnt think they were scamming me.